It has become increasingly helpful to improve air-oil separating systems in aerospace applications. Typically, oil is used as a lubricant that is circulated throughout an engine. Oil is pumped through supply lines to the engine. The process heats the oil and as such, typically an oil cooler is used in the circuit as well to properly maintain its working temperature.
The process also typically results in aeration of the oil, causing the oil to take on air which can compromise the oil lubricating properties as well as the ability for the oil to transfer heat. As such the oil may remain hotter than desired, which can cause increased engine wear both due to the increased temperature and the decreased lubricating ability.
As such, oil in such a circuit is commonly de-aerated in a de-aeration device, and then cooled using an oil cooler. However, aerospace applications typically have weight restrictions and it is desirable to minimize the amount of overall system mass for purposes of fuel efficiency. That is, two units having separate functionality are typically included in engine applications such as in an airplane, but each typically adds weight to the system, which can negatively impact fuel efficiency.
Overcoming these concerns would be helpful and it is therefore an object of the present disclosure to reduce overall component mass while providing both de-aeration and cooling of oil.